"Tim, come on" Gibbs called to his six year old son who was currently at the end of the grocery aisle. He was staring at a family who was shopping.
Tim was watching them with fascination. Currently, the two boys were underneath the bascket of the cart. What appeared to be a five year old girl was yelling at her mom because she wanted cookies.
Tim knew Dad would never let him or Tony act like that. Not that they were always well behaved, but yelling at Dad was never an option. Neither was goofing off like that in the store. Tim told his dad as much after he caught up with the man.
"You'd never let us act like that"
"Hmm?" Gibbs questioned absentmindedly.
"They're being naughty." Tim said and pointed at the kids.
"Hand down please. It's not polite to point" The man reminded and was rewarded with Tim lowering his hand. The boy continued to openly gape at the family though. "But you're right, I wouldn't let you act like that" Gibbs continued.
"What would you do?" Tim asked curiously.
"Do?" Gibbs asked, not really paying attention. He was trying to pick out some bread for the week.
"Yeah. If me and Tony acted like that. What would you do?" The boy clarified.
Now Gibbs spared a glance to the family. He saw what Tim meant, the kids were definitely not well behaved. He then looked at Tim.
"You know what I would do." He told the boy.
"Yeah, I guess so" Tim said with a shrug.
"Can you go pick out some cereal for you and Tony please" The father requested once Tim was pacified with their previous conversation.
Tim scampered off to do as his father asked. He grabbed a box of cocoa puffs for Tony and was then distracted by the family again. It was hard not to be. He could hear them yelling from two aisles over.
This time it was the boys arguing with their mother.
"You're being a jerk!" boy one shouted.
Tim waited in anticipation for what the mother would say. His dad wouldn't have said anything. Instead, they would leave the store and he would have to spend time in his room. This mother, much to Tim's surprise, didn't do anything.
"Sweetheart, we already have chips at home."
"Not the good ones though. We want these ones" Boy two argued.
Now Tim watched in awe that instead of being told off, the mother caved and told the boys to put them in the cart.
"Hey" Gibbs said and startled the young boy. "It's not polite to stare either." Gibbs reasoned on manners again. Tim looked up at his dad with a quizzical gaze.
"Okay" He finally acknowledged. Gibbs could not help but feel like he was being sized up by his six year old.
Gibbs placed a gentle hand on his head. "Did you get the cereal?" The father asked.
"Just Tony's" Tim admitted with a sheepish grin.
"Grab yours then, and we'll be almost done."
Tim nodded and quickly grabbed a box of cheerios.
"Hey Dad?" Tim asked as they walked to the next aisle.
"Yeah buddy?" Gibbs answered while staring down the yogurt looking for the kind the boys would eat.
"What would you do if I called you a jerk?"
Gibbs paused what he was doing and raised a quizzical eye at Tim. Not entirely sure where this conversation was going, the man was wary.
"I hope for your sake that you're not planning on calling me that."
"I'm not" Tim quickly assured. "But what would you do?" The boy pestered.
"Where's this coming from Tim?" Gibbs asked in place of answering. He threw the yogurt into the cart before leading the boy down to the cheese.
Tim sighed impatiently. He just wanted an response to his question. But he answered his father's question anyway.
"One of the boys called his mom that" Tim explained.
It took Gibbs a moment to place who his son was talking about.
"The ones who were being naughty?" Gibbs asked for clarification. Tim nodded and Gibbs raised an eyebrow. Understanding was dawning on the father.
"We'd leave the store and you would be grounded" Gibbs finally answered. Tim nodded. That's what he thought.
Gibbs thought his son would leave it at that, but a couple of minutes later, Tim piped in with another comment.
"That mom didn't even do anything. She even let them get the chips." He told his dad, expecting the man to know what he was talking about. He didn't, having not witnessed or heard the chip incident, but he knew what Tim meant.
"Each family handles discipline differently." Gibbs told the boy as he tossed some bagels into the cart. "Would you like any juice?" The father asked.
"Yes please, apple" Tim replied. "But they called their mom that. You're not supposed to be mean to girls like that." Tim explained, reiterating what he heard his dad and brother tell him. Clearly Tim wasn't going to let this conversation drop.
"That's right, Tiger" Gibbs praised. "And we can talk about this later, but I am not comfortable having this discussion here." The father said, ending the topic.
"Okay Daddy" Tim agreed easily. He was still thinking about the differences between his family and the one he just witnessed. He wondered if he would dare be that rude to his mom, if she was still around. Definitely not, he decided and rushed to follow his father.
They reached the frozen aisles and Tim spotted his favorite. He grabbed it and brought it to the cart where his father stood looking at the vegetables.
"Can we get this please?" He asked his dad.
"We have some at home" Gibbs reminded.
"But it's chocolate. I want vanilla" Tim wheedled.
"Put it back please." The father said more firmly than before.
Tim pondered this for a moment.
"No." He said and went to put it in the cart. His father grabbed his wrist and looked his on in the eyes. There was no real defiance in them and Gibbs knew exactly what Tim was doing.
"Please don't do this, Timmy" Gibbs said.
"Do what?" The boy asked. Clearly forgetting he was supposed to be upset.
"You saw those kids misbehaving and now you're testing me to see what I will do. Don't. I will follow through with the earlier consequences.
"I'm not!" Tim contradicted. Gibbs raised his eyebrow with clear disbelief.
"I'm- you- you're being a jerk!" Tim yelled without thought. When his head caught up with his mouth, he threw his free hand up to his mouth and he looked up at his dad. He didn't look mad exactly, but annoyed for sure.
"Okay. Let's go" Gibbs said and shoved the cart to the side before taking the hand he still held and pulled the boy towards the door.
"Wait!" Tim cried out. Gibbs stopped, and steadied his youngest, who stumbled at the sudden stop.
"I'm sorry!" The boy said earnestly. "I'm really sorry!" The boy continued to plead. He didn't want to leave now. And he certainly didn't want to be grounded.
And if Gibbs had seen a real tantrum in Tim, they would have left on the spot. But like he had told his son, the boy was just testing him. He wanted to see if Gibbs would reign him in. He was asking for it. And Gibbs wouldn't disappoint.
"If you fight with me again, or even so much as whine to me, we are leaving immediately." Gibbs said sternly.
Tim nodded aggressively, hoping his enthusiasm showed his willingness to obey.
"Yes sir. I'm really sorry. I didn't mean to say that" the boy added to make it explicitly clear.
"Mmhmm. There will be no treat when we leave" Gibbs added. Occasionally, he would let the boys pick out a treat when they went shopping if they behaved. It wasn't a reward for good behavior, as he expected his son's to listen to him no matter what, but the father wasn't naïve enough to think the boys always liked to shop. This was one of the trips where he promised Tim a snack at the end of the shopping trip.
"Yes sir" Tim sighed softly, making sure to keep any hints of a whine out of his tone. It was hard though since Tim had already eyed a cookie he wanted. It was better than leaving early though, Tim decided.
"Can we still go out for lunch?" The boy asked shyly.
"Of course" Gibbs agreed easily. Tony was at his friend's house for the day, it was just Tim and Gibbs for the next couple of hours. Since Gibbs had taken Tony out last weekend, the father was looking forward to a day alone with Tim. They had to get the grocery shopping out of the way first.
"Now let's go check out, so we can get to the fun stuff"